Modern tennis is mainly played at the baseline. Today's professionals tend to stay at the back of the court, hitting deep, hard groundstrokes, rather than coming to the net and attacking with volleys, as the likes of Pete Sampras once did.

Think about winning

Rallying down the middle of the court with your partner is a great way to warm up, but once you start playing competitively you must think about winning points. Hitting balls down the centre won't get you anywhere as they are easy to return: instead, you need to place your shots in different areas of the court, making your opponent move so that you can hit balls into the spaces they can't get to.

Opening up space

Two brilliant shots to pull out when playing at the baseline are the cross-court and the down-the-line. Cross-courts, as the name suggests, are hit from one corner of the court to the other, while down-the-line shots are hit from one corner of the court straight ahead of you, down the sideline. Both shots can be played on the forehand or backhand, but the contact point is slightly later for down-the-lines - this is because your shoulders and hips need to to be rotated in the direction you want the ball to travel after it has made contact with your racket.

Swapping between these two shots can be extremely effective as it gets your opponent moving around, leaving parts of the court open for you to hit winners into. Points are most often secured by hitting a few cross-courts followed by a down-the-line which, with a shorter distance to travel, gives your opponent less time to get across the court to return it.

Learning how to change the direction of the ball is key to this strategy. Going from a down-the-line to a cross-court is relatively simple - just aim for a different part of the court and let your racket follow the line of the ball. However, going the other way requires a bit more thought. Whether you are on your forehand or backhand, you should turn your shoulders more, hit the ball slightly later than you usually would and, after your swing, let your strings point to where you want the ball to go for as long as possible.

Dealing with pressure

Not only an aggressive shot, cross-courts can also be useful for players who are under attack. A ball hit across the court has to travel further than a down-the-line shot, giving you extra time to recover your balance or positioning if you find yourself on the back foot.

However, remember that returning with a cross-court gives your opponent the opportunity to hit back a cross-court or a down-the-line - you have to be able to cover both returns, so be prepared to run.

If you find yourself being placed under pressure during a baseline rally, rather than looking to hit winners, you first need to concentrate on getting yourself back in the point. One way to do this is by hitting a deep shot to the centre of the court. This is a great counter-attacking shot as it reduces the attacking options of your opponent, "resetting" the rally, as it were, so that no one player is on top in the point.

To attack or defend?

If you want to play at the back of the court, there are two strategies you can adopt, depending on where your strengths lie. Players with strong returns are often aggressive baseliners: they hit returns that get their opponent moving - their shots will be hard, deep, wide and high. Cross-court shots are their main weapon, and they will rally with their partner until a space finally opens up - then, they win the point by slamming the ball into it.

In contrast, defensive baseliners, also known as counterpunchers, rely on their agility and speed. They aim to get back every ball but, rather than trying to hit winners, they wait for their opponent to make a mistake. Their style of play often frustrates aggressive players, who are looking to open up spaces: they may end up coming to the net to attack, but this gives the defensive baseliner the opportunity to lob them or pass them with a shot down the line.

Playing at the baseline is the most popular tactic in professional tennis today, but you cannot rely on it - you must learn how to play at the net too. Even if your opponent prefers to stay at the back of the court as well, they are likely to try to bring you forwards with short balls at some point during a match. Being able to play confidently in all areas of the court should be every player's goal.

Now try this ...

To practise changing the direction of the ball, place a target somewhere on the sideline between the service line and the baseline. Now stand on the other side of the court, directly opposite the target, with your partner in the opposite corner. Rally a few cross-court shots to each other, then, without warning them, try to hit the ball down the line and knock over the target. If your partner manages to return it, they get a point; if they don't, you get a point. Score an extra point if you hit the target. The first to reach an agreed number of points is the winner. This drill not only helps you practise changing the direction of the ball, it also gives your partner an opportunity to work on their returns.

Now work on hitting shots that bounce so close to the baseline or the sideline that your opponent is forced to move outside the court to return them. If you can do this in a match, you leave them in a highly vulnerable position and it makes it easy for you to hit balls into spaces they cannot get to quickly enough. Start rallying and, once you have hit a few balls, one of you shouts "start" and the game begins - if either of you manages to return a ball that moves the other out of the court, score one point. Again, the first to reach the agreed number of points wins.

What am I doing wrong?

Getting the wrong contact point is a common error. If you try to hit a down-the-line too far in front of you the ball with shoot off across the court. If this happens, think about your upper body - are you turning your shoulders and hips far enough around? Also, consider where your racket goes after you hit the ball - make sure your strings follow the direction you want the ball to go. The reverse is true for cross-court shots: hit the ball too far behind you and it will travel straight ahead.

Tracy Austin on her deadly backhand down the line

I didn't have a big serve, and I'm not a big person, so I wasn't going to be a serve and volleyer. My groundstrokes were very good, so that's what I relied on, back at the baseline. My backhand was probably my strongest weapon - it has always been more powerful and more accurate than my forehand - and my favourite shot was the backhand down the line. Whether I was playing Martina Navratilova at the net or having a rally with Chris Evert, I knew I could always pull out my backhand down the line.

Head-to-head I have a winning record against Evert, and a lot of that has to do with my ability to change the direction of the ball from a rally cross-court to a ball back down the line.

I used to do lots of backhand cross-court drills. One of the best involved me hitting two backhand cross-courts then changing it to one backhand down the line. This helped me get used to changing the direction of the ball. It's always helpful to make your drills specific, so when that shot comes up in a game, you've hit it so many times you can almost do it automatically.

Although I preferred to play at the baseline, players need to be able to play at the net, too. Even players who don't like playing there should force themselves to train at the net. Just look at what Rafael Nadal has done - he has become an all-court player at Wimbledon. He became more comfortable and aggressive at the net, put more pop on his serve, and he won the championship. Even great players have room for improvement.

• Tracy Austin will be part of the BBC commentary team for Wimbledon 2009 (22 June-5 July). Coverage is live and exclusive across BBC1, BBC2, BBC HD, Red Button, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Online, plus BBC iPlayer